Council quashes talk of turning Milpitas into charter city

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Newly-elected Councilman Anthony Phan, right, is sworn into office on Dec. 13, 2016 by former councilman Armando Gomez. Phan amassed nearly $67,000 to aid in his election to one of two open seats on the council last year.
Photo by Liz Cantu Davenport

The Milpitas City Council quickly shot down the idea of considering a change to the city’s form of government during a special meeting on priorities last week.

The council voted 4-0 on March 1 to not pursue any thought of turning Milpitas from a general law city to a charter city. Councilman Anthony Phan, who had proposed the idea, couldn’t attend the meeting to defend it because he came down with food poisoning.

General law cities are organized under the general laws of the state and have less autonomy than those that adopt their own voter-approved charters. While they must follow the general laws set by the state, charter cities may establish their own rules for local affairs.

Vice Mayor Marsha Grilli said there’s many other issues of concern to residents that she would rather spend time on.

“We have been hearing from residents and I think for myself, I don’t want to be spending time on this,” she said. “We have quite a few items that would serve the residents. I want to look at those priorities, I am not in favor of moving forward with charter city” discussion.

After learning that Milpitas is a general law city at a Jan. 24 special meeting, newly-elected Phan asked for the issue to be explored by city staff and brought back to council.

However, since news of this anticipated discussion broke out, many longtime residents have come out against the idea in emails and letters to the Post as well as to council members, calling it such things as “self serving” and “a waste of city time and money.”

In a March 2 email after last week’s meeting, Phan told the Post, “I’m disappointed, but I respect the decision made by my colleagues. I know that there are always opportunities to revisit the conversation in the future.”

Phan previously told the Post his suggestion sprung from residents’ frustrations aired during the Nov. 8 election, when he won his first term on the council.

“Residents were upset about water rates, decisions made without transparency, garbage rates, the way the city was managed, lawsuits and payouts and unchecked spending,” Phan explained.

Phan went on to say he wanted to see if a charter city could address some of those and other issues more effectively.

City leaders twice before discussed the possibility of changing Milpitas to a charter city, in 2002 and 2006, but those talks went nowhere.

Mayor Richard Tran said after the March 1 meeting that the council’s vote was a “clear result of the community’s voice.”

Among residents’ complaints was that charter city council members could serve full-time and be paid accordingly.

Residents preferred to have their council members serve on a volunteer basis, Tran said.

“Whether Milpitas is a general law or charter city will always be up to the voters,” he added.

California has 121 charter cities, according to the League of California Cities. Nearby San Jose and Santa Clara are charter cities.

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